Q&A: Efficiency opens the gate

In late December, Drug Store News caught up with ECRM president Mitch Bowlus to find out what was in store for the company’s highly successful series of Efficient Program Planning Session meetings and the constantly evolving MarketGate technology that helps drives them.

DSN: Mitch, this recession continues to hammer consumers, yet it seems that ECRM continues to grow. How has your business managed that?

Mitch Bowlus: We offer an efficient and cost-effective format. Our customers recognize that, as well as the other benefits we provide, and continue to register for our events, fortunately. Suppliers have guaranteed, prescheduled meetings with decision-makers in one place over the course of a few days, as opposed to traveling all over the country — our customers are always telling us how much our format saves in not only travel costs but also their valuable time.

Our events are focused [and] very productive, so there’s not a lot of standing around waiting for the next meeting. We don’t offer our customers a lot of free time, but we do offer [return on investment] that’s second-to-none, which is critical in this rough economy. I am finding that new suppliers may be initially hesitant about the [cost], but after they experience ECRM, they are typically customers for life.

Our retailers also recognize the effectiveness of our format to review opportunities for not only their current suppliers but also new ones. The number of focus meetings our retailers have in just a few days saves them literally months of office appointments. Also, our MarketGate software is provided complimentary to all attendees, year-round, which significantly adds to the value we offer.

DSN: We understand ECRM has made some updates to MarketGate that are helping retailers and suppliers get even more from your meetings. Can you tell us more about that?

Bowlus: We plan to introduce some new, exciting components in 2012 … [including] a new mobile application. This application will offer a revolutionary way for our customers to manage their ECRM events and meetings, take notes and select products, but it will also be a way for them to stay connected to other [consumer packaged goods] contacts and happenings, all from their mobile device. We’re really excited about this because we’re going to include our MarketGate communities, … which will be integrated into this mobile application, allowing our customers to personalize and tailor their ECRM experience to meet their unique business objectives. We plan on releasing this during the second quarter.

DSN: What’s your vision for this year, and what can we expect to see from ECRM?

Bowlus: We’re going to [continue to] focus on how we can improve our customers’ experience. … We’re going to focus on improving our core category events in the [United States] and abroad. … We’re going to listen to our customers about their needs and ideas for potential new categories we can expand upon. … They’re obviously the core of our business, and we will continue to provide them with the most efficient events and innovative technology for years to come.

TRENDING STORIES

Dollar General has big plans for 2012

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General was among the discount stores that benefited from a more cautious consumer spending in 2011, and the retailer expects that momentum to continue in 2012. The company announced that it plans to open 625 new stores and add more than 6,000 new jobs in 2012. These new stores and jobs will be spread among Dollar General’s 38-state operating area, plus California and Massachusetts.

“Dollar General is excited about our tremendous opportunity for growth in existing markets as well as in new markets such as California and Massachusetts,” said Rick Dreiling, Dollar General’s chairman and CEO. “We believe the new communities and states we are entering will benefit from our stores’ convenience and value, as well as the jobs and commitment to community our stores bring.”

The projected jobs follow on the heels of three years of positive job growth for the company. Including 2012, the company will have created more than 21,000 new jobs since 2009.

In addition to 625 new stores in 2012, the company said it plans to remodel or relocate 550 stores and open a distribution center in California.

TRENDING STORIES

ComScore: Holiday spending continued to rise

RESTON, Va. — Holiday spending continued on an upward trend as spending during the holiday season to date saw a vast increase, compared with the prior year, a new report from ComScore found.

For the first 56 days of the November-December holiday season, spending rose 15% to $35.3 billion. Similarly, spending rose 16% during the week ended Christmas Day (Dec. 25), to $2.8 billion, compared with the corresponding week last year.

"Holiday e-commerce spending has remained strong throughout the season, and we have now reached a record $35 billion in U.S. online sales for the season-to-date," ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said. "We can now say with certainty that the $1.25 billion spent on Cyber Monday will rank it as the heaviest online spending day of the season for the second consecutive year, but we should also note that it was accompanied by nine other billion dollar spending days this year."

Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and singer Diana Ross now feature on the schedule for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, slated for April 21-24 in Palm Beach, Fla.

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